Chinese banks have made pledges to bring in as
much money needed to finance
oil and gas investments in Nigeria, Group Managing
Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru,
has said. Baru disclosed this when a delegation of the Nigerian Gas
Association (NGA) led by its president, Engr. Dada Thomas, paid him a courtesy
visit in Abuja.
A statement on Friday by NNPC spokesman Ndu
Ughamadu, said the GMD received the commitment from the Chinese banks at a
recent meeting in London where, for the first time, the Chinese contributed
$250 million towards a Nigerian gas project.
“If the Chinese tell you that they are going to
do it, definitely they will do it and we will give them a run for their money,”
Baru said in the statement.
The NNPC helmsman also unveiled plans by the
corporation to expand gas generation and distribution nationwide to 10
gigawatts (GW) by 2020.
The GMD said the current efforts to connect the
eastern part of the country, where there are a lot of gas reserves, with the
west, where high consumption demand exists, demonstrated NNPC’s readiness to
impact positively on the power sector.
Dr. Baru stated that a lot has been achieved in
the contracting process of the $2.7 billion Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano pipeline
project, dubbed AKK Pipeline Project.
He explained that the feat recorded in the
project would bring to the fore, a new dimension in gas projects’ execution in
the country.
He said another project that would increase gas
consumption in the country was the Ogidigben Gas Industrial City project which,
he said, NNPC was committed to seeing it come to fruition.
Speaking during the visit, NGA President, Engr.
Dada Thomas, applauded the GMD for the new alternative funding recently signed
with Shell and Chevron to the tune of $1.78 billion, the Clearing of $400
million debt in April, the progress being made on the Elf 2loop lines and the
OB3 gas project, one of the most critical gas pipelines in the country.
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